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Do Not Love the World (1 John 2:15-17) - 10/4/26
Intro
John has just reminded believers:
Our sins are forgiven.
We know the Father.
God’s Word abides in us.
We have overcome the evil one.
Now John moves from who we are to how we should live.
He gives a direct command: “Do not love the world or the things in the world.”
This is not simply about avoiding certain behaviors.
The passage moves through two loves, two sources, and two outcomes.
DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD — v. 15a
“Do not love the world or the things in the world.”
Love — what we value, cherish, pursue, and set our affection upon.
World — the values, desires, priorities, and thinking that oppose God.
The issue is not simply what we do, but what has our heart.
The danger is allowing the world’s values to become our values, its priorities our priorities, and its desires our desires.
We love the world when its values, priorities, and pleasures begin to capture the heart that belongs to God.
We must guard our hearts from loving what opposes God.
LOVE THE FATHER — v. 15b
“If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
The World or the Father
John presents us with two competing loves.
We cannot give our hearts to the world while claiming the Father has our highest affection.
Christians still experience the pull of the world and battle sinful desires.
The issue is not perfection, but direction.
What has my heart? What do I value most? What am I pursuing?
What we love reveals where our allegiance lies.
REJECT THE DESIRES OF THE WORLD — v. 16
“For all that is in the world…”
The world continually turns our desires toward self:
Desires of the flesh — Satisfy me.
Pleasure, comfort, appetite, and desires pursued apart from God’s will.
Desires of the eyes — Give me what I see.
We see, we desire, and we begin to believe we need what we see.
Pride of life — Make much of me.
Possessions, accomplishments, recognition, status, power, and position.
Yet the Father Changes Our Desires
Because we know and love the Father, we increasingly desire:
To please Him.
To obey His Word.
To pursue holiness.
To love others.
To live for His glory.
The world teaches us to desire what pleases self. The Father changes our desires so that we increasingly want what pleases Him.
LIVE FOR WHAT LASTS — v. 17
“And the world is passing away along with its desires…”
Passing Away or Abiding Forever
The world has a fundamental problem: It cannot last.
Its pleasures are passing away.
Its possessions are passing away.
Its accomplishments are passing away.
Its recognition is passing away.
Even its desires are passing away.
“But whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
The world → passing away.
God’s will → abiding forever.
Obedience does not earn salvation; it demonstrates the direction of a life that knows God.
Why give your heart and your life to something you already know will not last?
Do not give your life to what cannot last.
THE WHAT NOW
Live With Eternity in View
Ask yourself:
What has my heart?
What is shaping my desires?
What am I living for?
We can live for what we want now, or we can live for what God wants forever.
We can invest our lives in what is passing away, or we can live for what has eternal significance.
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